A presentation by Lisa Petraglia (Economic Development Research Group) and Greg Bischak (Appalachian Regional Commission), ARC Fall Conference, October 2005

The Appalachian Regional Commission funded a variety of studies of key industry clusters in the 13-state Appalachian region. Economic Development Research Group was hired to conduct a series of studies relating to these issues, focusing on identification of target sectors, their trends and development potentials.

This slide show and presentation to the ARC Fall Conference provides an overview of:

• Definition and history of the cluster concept; examples of best known clusters around the world; and advantages of clusters;
• Identification of major clusters now operating in Appalachia, their concentration and locations;
• Roles of producer services, emerging new technologies and educational institutions supporting cluster growth and development.

Documents:
Slide show on Appalachian Clusters (pdf, 665k)

Broader Study on Sources of Economic Growth (web page)

Related Study of Global Competitiveness and Export Clusters (web page)